The Playboy Club is an American historical crime drama television series that aired on NBC from September 19 to October 3, 2011. Set in 1961, the series centers on the employees (known as Bunnies) of the original Playboy Club operating in Chicago. The Playboy Club stars Eddie Cibrian, Laura Benanti, Amber Heard, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Naturi Naughton, Leah Renee, Wes Ramsey, Jenifer Lewis, and David Krumholtz.
The Playboy Club was canceled on October 4, 2011, after three episodes aired, due to its low ratings. It was the first cancellation of the 2011–12 television season. NBC continued to film the series until October 10, 2011, hoping to sell the series to another network.
When production wrapped on October 10, 2011, Chad Hodge (the show's creator and executive producer) and Benanti both tweeted that they had finished seven episodes, including the pilot. Benanti further stated that the seventh episode has two endings, one of which is more final to the series.
Cast and characters
Main
Eddie Cibrian as Nick Dalton, a smooth high-powered attorney and Playboy Club key-holder who plans to run for state's attorney, but also harbors secret connections to organized crime. Jeff Hephner was originally cast in the role after performing well in test auditions, but the actor had no experience playing a television lead before, and the producers decided to let him go after the full cast table. Cibrian, who was cast just a few days before filming began, commuted from his Los Angeles home to the set in Chicago for filming. Laura Benanti as Bunny Mother Carol-Lynne. The original Playboy Bunny, Carol-Lynne is romantically involved with Nick.
Amber Heard as Bunny Maureen, a recently hired Playboy Bunny who is innocent and naive to the ways of the city, yet is running from mysterious and unexplained things in her dark past. Although the series premiere started with Nick helping Maureen out of a difficult situation, Heard said of the character, "Don't underestimate that character and her intelligence, and the journey that she's going to take to really rise above that. ... I think Maureen allows herself to be helped when she needs it, and by no means relies on any character, male or female, in this story, and never has." Jenna Dewan Tatum as Bunny Janie, a very provocative Bunny who is dating Max the bartender. She loves Max but cannot marry him because she is already married, although separated from her husband. Naturi Naughton as Bunny Brenda, who is seeking to be the first African American Playboy Playmate. Naughton auditioned four times for the role before getting cast, singing the Nat King Cole song "When I Fall in Love" during one of the auditions. In researching the role, Naughton consulted the black former Playboy Bunny Pat Lacey, watched the documentary film The Bunny Years (1999) and read the book 50 Years of the Playboy Bunny. Naughton had previously played a Playboy Bunny in "Hands and Knees", a fourth season episode of Mad Men, an AMC period drama also set in the 1960s. Leah Renee as Bunny Alice, a Bunny who is secretly lesbian and in a marriage of convenience with a gay man. Both are members of the homophile group the Mattachine Society. Wes Ramsey as Max, a bartender at the Playboy Club. David Krumholtz as Billy Rosen, manager of the Playboy Club. Krumholtz said he was drawn to the character and wished to play a role different from Charlie Eppes, the character he played for six seasons on the crime drama Numbers. Jenifer Lewis as Pearl, the warm and well-loved Playboy Club seamstress who sews the outfits for the Playboy Bunnies, many of whom confide their secrets to her. Lewis, who described her character as the mother hen of the club, did not have to audition for the role, which is unusual in a dramatic television series. Lewis was a Broadway singer who performed with co-star Naturi Naughton on the musical Hairspray, and the Pearl character was expected to sing in an upcoming episode when a scheduled entertainer fell through. Pearl was based on a real-life Playboy Club seamstress named Betty.